The Gentle Maiden and Five Lustful Brothers-Chapter 222: Kalvin’s Plan

Kalvin devised a plan to take Odette away.

He wouldn’t let her go easily.

When Ambrose and Asher were busy, he’d ask her for a private audience, just to talk. And then, he’d take her to a trap he would set and hide. And after he’d disappear with her. They could deal with the consequences together.

The plan was easy, simple even.

Kalvin left in search of the garden, he didn’t know the place and area well, but he was good at searching and locating.

Kalvin wasn’t thinking clearly, he was too goal focused.

He snuck around the garden and its adjacent areas before casting his entrapments. He saw a path that lead away from the palace and toward the mountains. One in particular had plenty of coverage with a snowstorm that seemed unwilling to move or cease, so it would be perfect place to hide while they wait to escape.

He would wait for her to approach the garden. And then he’d lure her away.

It was evening, soon the sun would be set and she would be strolling the gardens.

He positioned himself in the right place and as he heard her voice and the sound of gravel under feet hit his ears he leaned over in an attempt to look as though he were smelling the winter blooming flowers that were present here.

"Oh Kalvin, you’re still here?" She asked surprised to see him, she figured with the harsh rejection, the threat and the fight, he’d have returned home by now.

"Yes, it’s beautiful here, I figured I’d take time to see the capital of shifters before going back to my father and facing his wrath." Kalvin laughed trying to be lighthearted and seem easy, like how things were before.

"It is. It’s very different here, you know. The way people talk to each other, they’re a bit more open and accepting here." Odette carried a softness to her smile; one Kalvin has never seen on her face. It entranced him. Her eyes sparked in a way that made his heart jump.

He led her down the winding path toward the area he set his trap in.

Magic had a feel too. Artemasia had drilled into her until she could sense it in her bones.

She was trained. Artemasia unknowingly prepared her for this very moment.

A faint distortion shimmered near the rose bushes almost too subtle for the see, and then she spotted it, symbols etched into the soil. A binding circle disguised in the stone path. A spell twisted with containment magic.

Not meant to kill her.

Meant to cage her.

"You’ve been busy," Odette said softly.

"I came for you."

There it was.

Even after everything, the shattered engagement, the lies, the obsession pretending to be love, he still believed he could reach her.

She stopped walking and turned to face him, her stare hardened like her feelings for him.

Odette’s fingers twitched at her side, energy buzzing under her skin. If this had been months ago, before Artemasia, before the endless hours of brutal training, she might have foolishly stepped closer. But she knew better.

Kalvin’s smile widened. "I knew you’d understand. You always were a clever one."

"Was that supposed to be flattering?"

"It’s supposed to be convincing." He extended a hand. "Come with me, Odette. Before Ambrose cages you in gold and calls it love."

That name, Ambrose, lit something violent inside her chest.

Rage pulsed, hot and blistering.

"That’s rich coming from you." She growled back at him.

Kalvin’s eyes hardened. "You belong with me."

That was the moment she snapped.

The ground beneath Kalvin exploded.

Invisible forces wrapped around him like a fist, lifting him off his feet and slamming him backward into a tree. The impact cracked the trunk. He cried out, pain finally cracking through his composure.

"You planned to take me," Odette snarled, he struggled helplessly in midair. "To trap me like an object. Like I’m something you can own. How predictable of you."

"I loved you!" Kalvin shouted.

"You loved control."

She flung him again, this time across the garden. His body tore through rose bushes, thorns and branches tearing his skin, blood dark against the leaves.

He was flung into his own trap, and as the creator it shattered like glass.

The backlash sent a shockwave through the garden, leaves flying into the air, lanterns that decorated the garden for the gala started bursting into flame.

Kalvin hit the ground hard, gasping for air.

Odette hovered above him now, eyes glowing white, hair lifting as energy bled through her veins. White fire flickered across her palm, dancing like a familiar old friend. It curled around her, engulfing her body, but not burning her.

Divine fyre.

Panic flooded Kalvin’s mind and body. "Odette, wait!" he reached his hand out as if it could stop the blast heading for him.

"You will never touch me again."

She raised her hand.

The fyre roared to life.

And then...

"ODETTE!" Ambrose’s voice cut through the air like an arrow.

He slid his hand into hers. He held her with his presence.

"Look at me," Ambrose said urgently, his voice low, steady, unafraid. "You’re here. You’re safe. He won’t take you from me."

The fyre faltered.

Odette gasped, breath shuddering as awareness crashed back into her body. T

She blinked.

And then she saw them.

Arya.

Kalvin’s mother stood frozen at the edge of the garden path, her gown torn, her face white with terror. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked between her son’s broken form and Odette.

"Please," Arya whispered. "Please don’t kill him. I know he’s a piece of shit, but he’s my son and I love him."

Kalvin lay on the ground, bloodied, bruised, and at this point, barely conscious.

The fyre faded and Odette’s eyes returned to the normal shade of red.

Odette sagged in Ambrose’s arms, shaking.

What had she almost done?

Ambrose tightened his grip, pressing his forehead to her temple. "I’ve got you," he murmured. "I won’t let you fall."

Odette swallowed hard, forcing herself to breathe.

She looked at Arya again, at the fear, the devastation, and then back at Kalvin.

Odette said hoarsely. "Stay away from me."

Kalvin didn’t answer.

He couldn’t.

Ambrose straightened, his expression turning lethal as he surveyed the damage. "His mother will handle him," he said coldly. "And this garden will need to be fixed immediately. Get Artemasia here."

Arya collapsed to her knees beside her son, sobbing.

Odette turned away, not looking back.